Debate rages over the future of the Bonneville Salt Flats

For more than 100 years, the Bonneville Salt Flats have been one of America's most famous speedways. The salt that stretches for miles and miles in northwest Utah makes the place look like a different planet -- one that is uniquely suited to making vehicles go very fast. But today, the salt that is essential to racing is going away, and a bitter debate is raging over how that should be handled. Jeff Glor reports.
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[@vjr5261]

My dad did 200.08 in 1956 on the flats in a rear engine car he built. 56

[@dezertraider]

Holly Cow,That was very fast ,Thank you

[@AssholeGarage]

That's a major achievement even today , your dad rocks ! Hopefully , The flats will still be there for your children also !

[@flatcapcaferacer]

I've been racing at Bonneville for a decade and the replishment by the mining company did show some real results in 2021. If this effort continues or increases the salt will get better each year. Now that there has been some agreement on what needs to be done hopefully the finger pointing will stop.

[@TheeVinylCollector]

Save the Salt Flats!!!

[@LSxHC]

no

[@TheMNrailfan227]

@@LSxHC yes lol

[@LSxHC]

@@TheMNrailfan227 Who cares

[@Mk101T]

Just wait longer ... there will be new ones around the lake area .

[@chrisbaker2903]

@@LSxHC We do. Thousands and thousands of us. The salt flats are a national treasure no different other than appearance from the giant redwoods in California.

[@jimh4167]

Why isn't the mining operation mandated to restore the property after the potash is removed

[@midnitenoon]

Because people elect money hungry government that allows their friends to mis manage our land for money

[@Trunalimunumaprzure]

Tires kick up salt, salt falls back to the ground with all the other salt. Taking the salt MILES away and storing it in giant piles completely ruins the salt.

[@chickensfloat7427]

People are not going the same directions every time. Anything you do is gonna be bad for the environment. Ecosystems are alwats changing. Lakes dry up, erosion happens makea a canyon, forests turn to deserts, deserts turn to forests.

[@chickensfloat7427]

All these people walking on the beach. Puts it in lumps and piles, ruins the beach. People shoukd not be allowed to walk on it

[@odbodysdesire1525]

Government doing what it always does, destroying life's pleasures.

[@whalesong999]

The more Fascist our republic gets, the more long admired national treasures will be exploited for some kind of profit for big companies and those at the top.

[@TransitTechLA]

The govt? But you are giving the mining operations a pass because "business and economy" right?

[@cargopilotguy305]

@@TransitTechLAwhy do we have to fight about this? Do you think this place should be stripped for mining companies? If you do then let’s just agree on this even if we would disagree on other things

[@davideudy3707]

The government unfortunately has the responsibility to take care of the land . that means replaced the salt. The racing community is not removing the salt , they're not doing much more than moving the bare surface around. the mining companies are the ones doing the damage. the salt needs to be it replaced and more care taken about removing salt from that area. That is a natural phenomena and should be kept alive. BLM isn't doing their job.

[@racerd3801]

Lets talk about the damage potash dose to the lakes when used in fertilizer , and then we can STOP raping the salt flats

[@bigdog4574]

BLM- "I don't think much"...... yup I'd say that is an accurate statement! At least he is honest.

[@cargopilotguy305]

That’s government in a nutshell. Uncaring and impersonal. So long as his taxpayer funded paychecks and benefits keep coming he’ll happily destroy anything

[@jonathanjoestar__]

I'm not even from America, but i would do almost anything to be able to do a ludicrously fast run on the salt on a Kawasaki ninja H2R, or a Suzuki hayabusa, or even in a Camaro. Europeans also are with the 'save the salts' people!

[@pizzaplaysblitz540]

But they'll still mime the flats 😂

[@alexjenner1108]

Lake Gairdner, in South Australia or Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia are also options for people who are willing to travel to set records. El Mirage in California, is another option in the US although not enough space for the fastest cars that want to set records.

[@racer67]

Such a majestic place! It should be preserved no matter what be4 its to late!

[@racerd9669]

If you really want to know what the Bonneville Salt Flats means to the world racing community , just watch the movie The Worlds Fastest Indian and then tell this is not worth saving?

[@autoracer350]

One of my top 10 movies. And an awesome story about a real person that did what nobody thought he could. It was an amazing time in America. I wish I could have seen it back then.

[@crimsondawn328]

Save the Salt

[@bartstarr972]

Sounds to me like the lady " scientist " works for the potash company....

[@judyannkiwi]

U said it !!

[@cargopilotguy305]

She sounds exactly like the sort of “expert” the government loves to have green light their agendas

[@edwilko8819]

wow amazing how their even allowed to mine the salt flats.

[@hdhsahgajs2522]

Cause their better than you in every single way

[@AnvilDragon]

That's a weasel statement since the tires and splatter pick up a few pounds that the racers scrape off as much as possible to leave on the flats. Some even bag what they can when they cleanup at home and return it. Flip that to thousands of tons annually. That's like holding bicycles responsible for half of all the road wear and carbon emmisions on the nations freeways. Another bit to add is the Save the Salt movement has been bringing salt to the salt flats, so the racers are providing a net gain though still a very small percentage of what the mining companies take in a day. That bit has been increased in a major way but the efforts to have some of the brine pumped back after commercial extraction. So not everyone who mines is the enemy though enough to be a big problem and the BLM is encouraged both directly and indirectly to let the people with money take without any consideration of any future for any environment. You can point to any mine, pit, or toxic waste pile and know it's been land managed. That everyone who had the means pocketed the wealth and left it to be fenced off as dangerous BLM managed wasteland.

[@angelmatos9143]

The symbolic/important nature of this place is way beyond the greed & comprehension of whatever goes on in Washington.

[@db7152]

I they mine it off they need to PUT IT BACK ! least minus the pot ash.

[@NAVYABHAN]

Once again, the little enjoyment of the people is interrupted because of Corporate Interest. When will our Politicians stop ignoring the few ways people have left for relaxation? Every time there’s Corporate or Government Interests involved, the Voting Populace are kicked out, taxed, regulated or licensed?

[@Chris-fo8wp]

BLM...Basement Level Management....

[@adobotravels]

Flat my tire there last week, careful when you do drive here guys

[@alexjenner1108]

Just saw the flooding in 2022 speed week. 6:36 when she says "leave it alone", Is she saying both racing and industrial mining should both stop? Or just the racing? Because I'm pretty sure the amount of salt that sticks to tires is small compared to mining.

[@chrisbaker2903]

And the racers scrape off what they can from what accumulates on their cars and return it to the surface.

[@kidwave1]

Yea Government! Not!

[@chrisswin8976]

Make them put it back that's the least they can do. You open the trash can lid. You close the trash can lid.

[@rayschultz387]

When the part of your hair is the start of the salt flat I begin to wonder...

[@zenogodofeverything3519]

When she says I'm the fastest Chevy 😭😭😭

[@TheYammerHammer]

New speedway boogie 💪

[@kvaz21]

I blame Buckaroo Bonsai

[@alouisschafer7212]

nice how that BLM guy is not even attempting to debate or acknowledge any arguments at all. How can this person represent the BLM???

[@craigpennington1251]

You can talk all you want but it's the one with all the ($) who has the say in things. It's always been that way and will continue that way.

[@Itried20takennames]

Most people who enjoy nature know it’s not a great idea to tear nature up to enjoy it. And if drivers want tear up in salt, they could put salt in a long track somewhere and drive there. Even if the racing is only part of the issue, everyone knows you don’t cut down a redwood because you want some lumber….leave the redwood alone, get the lumber elsewhere.

[@TONY-qj1nk]

Yawn

[@-SumMofo-]

I drove 180 in my dodge durango

[@daviddroescher]

On salt or pavement? They are not the same. 2019 I watch a team who thought it was; spend the hole week trying to get to 130mph with a 200+mph drag car.

[@-SumMofo-]

@@daviddroescher is a joke, im like 13 xd

[@chrisbaker2903]

To me, this video shows what the salt flats are for. kzbin.info/www/bejne/faqol3eolJ50jMk Listen to the music of that big honkin V8 spinning about 8500 RPM and catch the Doppler shift as he goes past the camera position and then shifts to 4th gear, and if you have good hearing you can hear the revs climbing ever so slightly as he continues down the course.

[@billdee9622]

Good report. I think it is time to get Bozos, Gates, Musk and the like, to build a full racing complex. Make a 10 mile long paved straight course somewhere here in the states. The complex could include all kinds of motor sports tracks.

[@flipflopsguy8868]

She's got her Nitch, it makes me sad like the veteran racer woman and angry at the "Journalist" and media at his apathetic interview and the well known fact that the media along with "$eience" and the left are against anything american, traditional or Normal that especially depends on "Fossil Fuel".

[@fletchercrone2883]

Since when is the left pro-resource exploitation? That's a very conservative/corporatist view.

[@christopherlewis4141]

STS

[@TruTh.HurTz_916]

Omg he said BLM and raped in the same sentence. I felt guilty jus watching this this

[@judyannkiwi]

I don’t care for the scientist sounds like foochi

[@richardwilliams3497]

Lots of rape talk in this one

[@kevinjeong6747]

When he said BLM I was like 😮 3:05

[@normansilver905]

This is now a moot point. The Salt Flats are covered with water and during to long time evaporation process the surface will have been repaired by Mother Nature.

[@michaelbyrnee9584]

blm destroys everything it touches.

[@StephenSternGoth]

Black lives matter I mean bureau of Land Management

[@virgo714]

another natural land disappearing 😭😭😭

[@1SlipperyPenguin]

I’m blaming BLM 😂😂😂 that’s didn’t age well

[@chrisswin8976]

Right on man if you take it out you need to pump it back into.

[@rjanbrathenbarholt.5417]

GOD's FLAT EARTH !

[@zephyr5574]

Ug

[@jimh4167]

Why not a thousand years more. ??? Da There was 4 feet thick of salt Now less than 6 inchs thick... The end is coming... In the area where they race... Is that because of man Or nature

[@Cryptonymicus]

Because the world is in such great shape we need to concern ourselves with a barren lifeless desert hellhole.

[@eddiemcfadden4386]

Bunch a rich people who cares

[@miafarrago4941]

Interesting story, beautifully photographed. As always, you looked at the story from different angles. Bottom line, I have no empathy for the racers. What they do means nothing to most people not associated with this hobby. The story was yet another reminder, though, of the way we all indirectly impact the environment in a massive way through our consumption habits, in ways we're not at all aware of. As with most stories, you bring to mind more questions and I want to delve deeper. I'm wondering about the impact of potash use in farming practices and the long term effect on the environment, as well as the impact of the the mining process. Focusing on the racing was a catchy way to bring attention to a larger, unknown story. So telling that the groups involved ignore the scientist in the middle of it all.

[@glennakbo6421]

I agree, its not about the racers but about the direct and indirect impact on the environment and the sad destruction for profit of a unique part of nature. It may not look like much but in my opinion it is similar to the cutting down of the giant red woods.

[@WYAD8]

BLM 😂

[@topsecret1837]

What does BLM mean in this context? Considering it means Black Lives Matter in one context, I want to know what it means regarding the salt flat mining.

[@mr.k1896]

Bureau of Land Management. They said it in the video.

[@SirManDudeGuy1]

The only way to save this by leaving it along for a few years. These entitled racers are to narrow-minded to see it.

[@cudatom9290]

tire tracks are to blame but not the mining?? You can tell where the money comes from.